#1 South Carolina votes to remove Confederate flag
Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:44 pm
BBC
The House of Representatives in South Carolina has voted to take down the Confederate flag from capitol grounds after a long and fractious debate.
The House approval, by 93-27, follows a similar move in the Senate and, after a final procedural vote, the bill will go to the governor for signature.
Republican Governor Nikki Haley supports the removal of the flag.
The backlash against the emblem grew when a gunman killed nine people at a Charleston church last month.
Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old charged with the killings, was pictured holding the flag.
The House vote was taken early on Thursday morning after 13 hours of debate.
During a heated session, dozens of amendments by Republicans aimed at slowing down passage of the bill were rejected.
The flag is seen by some as an icon of slavery and racism while others say it symbolises US heritage and history.
It was originally the battle flag of the southern states in the American Civil War which tried to break away.
South Carolina was the first state to leave the union in 1860. It restored the flag in the capitol grounds more than 50 years ago in protest at the civil rights movement.